The ISEE-3 was launched in 1978 to study solar winds streaming to Earth — it completed this primary mission in 1981. NASA then redirected the spacecraft to observe comets with the remaining fuel and instruments. After completing that second mission, the ISEE-3 was put into orbit around the Sun. NASA ended the ISEE-3's second mission on May 5, 1997 and shut down the spacecraft.

The group of citizen scientists from Skycorp, Inc. thought there was still life in the spacecraft and started the ISEE-3 Reboot Project. NASA officially told the group that there was no funding to support the ISEE-3 reboot effort and that it was of little formal priority for the agency, despite believing the potential data the spacecraft could generate is valuable.

Now, as the ISEE-3 makes its closest approach to Earth in 30 years, NASA and Skycorp are attempting to communicate with the spacecraft. The goal is to command it to fire its engines and enter an orbit around Earth. Once successfully in orbit, the plan is to have the ISEE-3 continue its 1981 mission of observing comets, rechristened as the International Comet Explorer (ICE).

If communications are unsuccessful (this will have to happen no later than mid-June), the spacecraft will pass by the Moon and head back into orbit around the Sun.

Skycorp has been crowdfunding its ISEE-3 Reboot Project and has raised more than $150,000 of its $125,000 goal for the project. The money will be used to pay the costs of writing the software to communicate with the spacecraft. The crowdfunding campaign will end on Friday.

This is an artist's depiction of a flare that exploded from a red dwarf star.

Image: NASA Goddard

Earth's closest neighbor, the moon.

Image: NASA Goddard

The Horsehead Nebula in infrared light.

Image: NASA Goddard

Saturn, half exposed.

Image: NASA Goddard

The Cat's Eye Nebula was one of the first nebulas to be discovered.

Image: NASA Goddard

Jupiter's red spot, which is actually a hurricane three times the size of Earth.

Image: NASA Goddard

This picture is a collection of visible radio and X-ray data that show the remnants of another supernova.

Image: NASA Goddard

A trail of gas floats through space, part of the remains of a giant star.

Image: NASA Goddard

A snapshot of Jupiter's largest moon.

Image: NASA Goddard

Visible data and infrared images combine to provide this photo of the Ring Nebula.

Image: NASA Goddard

The mother planet.

Image: NASA Goddard

A dying star is covered by icy hailstones.

Image: NASA Goddard

A snapshot of the Lagoon Nebula.

Image: NASA Goddard

Dust clouds obscure the galaxy Centaurus A.

Image: NASA Goddard

An aurora, seen from Yukkon, Canada.

Image: NASA Goddard

An aurora, seen from space.

Image: NASA Goddard

The veiny, icy surface of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.

Image: NASA Goddard

A computer-generated view of Mars at daybreak.

Image: NASA Goddard

Cygnus X is a region of space with many massive stars.

Image: NASA Goddard

The binary star system Eta Carinae.

Image: NASA Goddard

An image of the Egg Nebula taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Image: NASA Goddard

Just a small chunk of the Carina Nebula.

Image: NASA Goddard

A computer-generated image of a black hole swallowing cosmic gas.

Image: NASA Goddard

The dwarf galaxy NGC 4214, full of new stars.

Image: NASA Goddard

A crater on Mercury in the shape of Mickey Mouse.

Image: NASA Goddard

The merger of the Milky Way and nearby Andromeda Galaxy, which is predicted to happen in the next several billion years.

Image: NASA Goddard

Find "the Pale Blue Dot." This photo was acquired on Feb. 14, 1990 when NASA’s Voyager 1 snapped it from four billion miles away. Voyager 1 has traveled farther than any other spacecraft, and was launched on Sept. 5, 1977.

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